Majority Leader Joe Manchin

I largely agree with this and saw the interview that another poster referenced here.

I'm not a fan of Manchin but I understand where he's coming from as I doubt the Democrats can hold that seat without him and every single Senate seat matters. I will also note that Manchin (and Sinema) have in the last few years voted far more often with the rest of the Democrats than they have with Republicans. While it is frustrating to see them on things like infrastructure they really showed where they stand by voting to impeach Trump twice. In the case of Manchin this was very much something his constituents didn't agree. Manchin also bucked his constituents by supporting gun control measures. So while he isn't AOC he isn't a DINO.

To quote the late Dennis Green "He is who we thought he was". Where Manchin stands has been very well known and that was more reason why the failure of the Democrats to win an outright majority in the Senate was problematic. If they could've beaten Just Susan Collins we wouldn't be talking about Manchin so much.

 

Seems appropriate to repost this here

 

He a senator from West Virginia, it's as simple as that.

 

Very true. He is who he says he is and we just have to live with the fact that he’s a Democrat in West Virginia. Him voting to impeach Trump is actually a really big deal for him so I’m glad you called that out puts things into perspective. Imagine being the Republican mayor of Seattle. That’s kind of how much of an anomaly he is.

 

It's exasperating to hear Manchin spouting off about bipartisanship, something I support when it exists. The problem is that the Republicans in Congress are either laughing at the word, or so afraid of being primaried that they are willing to go along with anything their leadership tells them to vote for, country be damned. Manchin needs to look beyond the boundaries of West Virginia. There are 49 other states out there and in far too many of them, including Texas, democracy is under serious assault.

 

Here's the editorial from manchin excusing his position...

The right to vote is fundamental to our American democracy and protecting that right should not be about party or politics. Least of all, protecting this right, which is a value I share, should never be done in a partisan manner.

During my time as West Virginia’s secretary of state, I was determined to protect this right and ensure our elections are fair, accessible and secure. Not to benefit my party but all the people of West Virginia. For example, as secretary of state I took specific actions to establish early voting for the first time in West Virginia in order to provide expanded options for those whose work or family schedule made it difficult for them to vote on Election Day. Throughout my tenure in politics, I have been guided by this simple philosophy — our party labels can’t prevent us from doing what is right.

Unfortunately, we now are witnessing that the fundamental right to vote has itself become overtly politicized. Today’s debate about how to best protect our right to vote and to hold elections, however, is not about finding common ground, but seeking partisan advantage. Whether it is state laws that seek to needlessly restrict voting or politicians who ignore the need to secure our elections, partisan policymaking won’t instill confidence in our democracy — it will destroy it.

As such, congressional action on federal voting rights legislation must be the result of both Democrats and Republicans coming together to find a pathway forward or we risk further dividing and destroying the republic we swore to protect and defend as elected officials.

Democrats in Congress have proposed a sweeping election reform bill called the For the People Act. This more than 800-page bill has garnered zero Republican support. Why? Are the very Republican senators who voted to impeach Trump because of actions that led to an attack on our democracy unwilling to support actions to strengthen our democracy? Are these same senators, whom many in my party applauded for their courage, now threats to the very democracy we seek to protect?

The truth, I would argue, is that voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen.

With that in mind, some Democrats have again proposed eliminating the Senate filibuster rule in order to pass the For the People Act with only Democratic support. They’ve attempted to demonize the filibuster and conveniently ignore how it has been critical to protecting the rights of Democrats in the past.

As a reminder, just four short years ago, in 2017 when Republicans held control of the White House and Congress, President Donald Trump was publicly urging Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster. Then, it was Senate Democrats who were proudly defending the filibuster. Thirty-three Senate Democrats penned a letter to Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warning of the perils of eliminating the filibuster.

It has been said by much wiser people than me that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Well, what I’ve seen during my time in Washington is that every party in power will always want to exercise absolute power, absolutely. Our founders were wise to see the temptation of absolute power and built in specific checks and balances to force compromise that serves to preserve our fragile democracy. The Senate, its processes and rules, have evolved over time to make absolute power difficult while still delivering solutions to the issues facing our country and I believe that’s the Senate’s best quality.

Yes, this process can be frustrating and slow. It will force compromises that are not always ideal. But consider the alternative. Do we really want to live in an America where one party can dictate and demand everything and anything it wants, whenever it wants? I have always said, “If I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.” And I cannot explain strictly partisan election reform or blowing up the Senate rules to expedite one party’s agenda.

The truth is there is a better way – if we seek to find it together.

The Voting Rights Act, for example, was monumental in the fight to guarantee freer and fairer elections in the United States. Since its original passage, it has been reauthorized with overwhelming bipartisan votes five separate times. In addition, there is bipartisan support to pass the latest iteration of this legislation, the rightfully named John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would update the formula states and localities must use to ensure proposed voting laws do not restrict the rights of any particular group or population. My Republican colleague, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has joined me in urging Senate leadership to update and pass this bill through regular order. I continue to engage with my Republican and Democratic colleagues about the value of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and I am encouraged by the desire from both sides to transcend partisan politics and strengthen our democracy by protecting voting rights.

Of course, some in my party have argued that now is the time to discard such bipartisan voting reforms and embrace election reforms and policies solely supported by one party. Respectfully, I do not agree.

I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster. For as long as I have the privilege of being your U.S. senator, I will fight to represent the people of West Virginia, to seek bipartisan compromise no matter how difficult and to develop the political bonds that end divisions and help unite the country we love.

American democracy is something special, it is bigger than one party, or the tweet-filled partisan attack politics of the moment. It is my sincere hope that all of us, especially those who are privileged to serve, remember our responsibility to do more to unite this country before it is too late.

 

You are expecting too much.

Most of our politicians are only looking out for themselves. Soon it will be all.

Selfishness is contagious. When a person sees most of his colleagues looking out for their own interests instead of the collective, they lose faith and incentive to do otherwise.

You are witnessing the death of American democracy.

 

If we can't get infra bill get a healthcare bill passed. I WV will be behind it since they are a sick and poor state.

 

This guy is such an idiot.

 

A quote from him.

"Do we really want to live in an America where one party can dictate and demand everything and anything it wants, whenever it wants? I have always said, ‘If I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.’ And I cannot explain strictly partisan election reform or blowing up the Senate rules to expedite one party’s agenda," Manchin wrote.

Being able to read a bill and understand the content inside of it is kinda requisite to the position. If you can't explain it then you don't understand it. That's some nonsense from him.

 

Hahaha. You just have to appreciate the dark, hopeless humor of it all sometimes.

"I don't want to see the country divided any further," he said, helping sell ads for a central and accelerating factor of the division.

 

Elections expert 'genuinely' doesn't understand Democrats' voting rights legislation strategy

https://theweek.com/us/1001206/do-d...h-up-their-voting-rights-legislation-strategy

"I don't know why the Democrats are doing what they're doing" in their effort to pass voting rights legislation, Jessica Huseman, an elections expert and the editorial director at Votebeat, told Politico. "I genuinely don't understand."

Huseman's point is that the party should be focusing on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act (or H.R. 4), which was introduced in 2019 and would restore and strengthen aspects of the original 1965 Voting Rights Act, as opposed to the more sweeping For the People Act (or H.R. 1). "I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that this bill could create some bipartisan support," Huseman said.

While the makeup of the Senate means Democrats will struggle to get either bill through the upper chamber, H.R. 1 has almost no chance, especially considering Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) is the only Democratic senator who isn't co-sponsoring the bill, Politico notes.

Rev. Al Sharpton agrees with Huseman, telling Politico that he thinks "the politics of public opinion says that H.R. 4 would be more difficult for the Republicans to justify opposing." Sharpton said he wants both bills passed ultimately, but added that H.R. 4 "takes the veil off those that are trying to obstruct voting rights." Read more at Politico.​

 

He represents West Virginia. He's effectively a republican who lets Chuck Schumer be majority leader instead of Mitch McConnell. You can be mad that he blocks everything Biden wants to do, or you can just be happy he blocks everything McConnell wants to do.

 

This.

He is in West Virginia, and no other democrat would win that state. He has to play the role of a quasi independent as he needs republican voter support to keep his spot. The democrats can be upset.... but he still votes with them sometimes and the other option is he is neutered and replaces by a republican or he switches to republican party.

 

What's particularly galling about Manchin's latest statement is the fact that he doesn't list any actual objections to For the People Act, nor does he propose any alternatives/fixes to make it more palatable for "bipartisanship." Nope, all that matters is that the bill has no GOP support and as a result, he announces he'd vote against it.

The reality is that no voting rights bill passed by the Democrats will ever get Republican support. I have no doubt that Murkowski will withdraw her support for the John Lewis Act once it actually comes to a vote and there definitely won't be an additional 10 Republican votes to get it past McConnell's filibuster.

By catering to Republican bad faith, Manchin is basically siding with inertia and obstruction. In an editorial I read earlier today, the author compared Manchin's insistence on finding common ground regardless of the positions of the two sides to trying to find common ground between one person who claims 2+2=4 and another who claims 2+2=17.

Sometimes in life, one side is wholly on the wrong side and their position should not be seriously entertained.

If I were the leaders of the party, I would gather every centrist (because let's be real here - these are the people who are openly and covertly in the way of legislative progress) and ask them "I know you are afraid that too much legislation by the "left" will hurt your election chances. But the only chance you have for re-election is if we pass legislation - especially legislation that the majority of US voters support. Waiting on the sociopathic GOP to suddenly find their conscience and work collaboratively with Democrats means that won't happen. The GOP will never work with Democrats - they haven't in almost 27 years and nothing is going to change there. So it is up to us to pass legislation that is for the clear benefit of the American people. Failing to do so means we will lose our majority because every independent will see us as ineffective and vote Republican, while every progressive will simply not vote for the same reason. And it will be you - not the progressives - who will be voted out, and it will be you who are included in the list of bad guys when our democracy falls apart due to GOP authoritarianism. So pick a side and do it now."

 

Is there a reason why the Democrats can't first focus on John Lewis Act, which at least has some chance of getting bipartisan support, and then move on to this For the People Act to try to fix up things that aren't addressed by the first one?

What is the rationale behind going straight for the legislation that has no chance for bipartisan support?

 

For reference.
https://apnews.com/article/ap-fact-...and-politics-c65d4424c200ede56fc31db42e28e084

AP FACT CHECK: Manchin, Sinema do not vote with GOP more
By HOPE YENJune 2, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is stretching the facts when he suggests that two moderate Democrats in the Senate might be a reason why his legislative agenda, such as a sweeping voting rights bill, isn’t quickly getting done on Capitol Hill.

In a Senate divided 50-50 where legislation effectively needs 60 votes to pass, Biden points to an obstacle that doesn’t exist. He said the lawmakers, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, actually “vote more with my Republican friends.”

That’s not true.

BIDEN: “June should be a month of action on Capitol Hill. I hear all the folks on TV saying, ‘Why doesn’t Biden get this done?’ Well, because Biden only has a majority of, effectively, four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends.” — remarks Tuesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

THE FACTS: His implication about their voting records is wrong.

While Manchin and Sinema have indeed been more likely than other Democrats in either the Senate or House to cross party lines, it’s not true they vote more often with Republicans than with fellow Democrats. And they haven’t done so in Biden’s presidency. So far, they’ve aligned with Biden 100% of the time.

According to CQ Roll Call, Manchin voted against his party’s majority 38.5% of the time last year, while Sinema did so for 33.1% of the votes. Democratic Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, who lost his reelection race in November to Republican Tommy Tuberville, was third at 32.2%.

In the House, Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, most frequently voted last year against his party, at 27.3%, followed by Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., at 23.7%. Both lost to Republican challengers in November.

Manchin and Sinema have also supported Biden’s position in every instance so far this year, including numerous confirmation votes on Biden nominees, COVID-19 relief and the commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to FiveThirtyEight’s count. Sinema was not in town for last week’s vote on the Jan. 6 commission, citing a family matter, but said she would have backed it if she were.

The two senators, however, are opposed to eliminating the 60-vote filibuster, a procedural hurdle that effectively requires a supermajority to pass legislation. They are now being pressed anew to reconsider their opposition after too few Republicans joined with Democrats to create the bipartisan Jan. 6 commission.

Manchin also opposes the election overhaul bill that would expand and mandate early voting, same-day registration and other long-sought changes that Republicans reject.

Still, it’s not just Manchin and Sinema who oppose doing away with the filibuster. As many as 10 Democratic senators are reluctant to change the rules even for key legislation such as the voting rights bill. Biden himself has not said he wants to end the filibuster.

Manchin’s office declined to comment on Biden’s remarks, and Sinema’s office didn’t respond to messages. In a statement last month, Manchin said he was proud of CQ’s latest ranking showing him to be the most “bipartisan” lawmaker in the Senate.

Biden didn’t identify the two senators by name, but there was no mistaking whom he meant. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said Biden was not criticizing them in his remarks but was instead explaining the process to pass legislation in the Senate. She added that they would no doubt be proud of their “independent streaks” and their votes representing their states.

“He considers them both friends,” Psaki said. “He considers them both good working partners. And he believes that in democracy, we don’t have to see eye to eye on every detail of every single issue in order to work together. And he certainly thinks that reflects their relationship.”

 

My understanding is that the For the People Act will retroactively curtail state laws such as the ones that GA and TX have already put in. The John Lewis Act isn't retroactive.

To note that whether the filibuster is there or not if Manchin doesn't support the For People Act the filibuster won't come into play as the Democrats won't have a majority.

If I was Democratic leadership I would try pushing the John Lewis Act before doing anything to the filibuster and put Manchin on the spot. If no or only one or two Republicans support that that will show that the GOP Caucus has no interests in dealing at all and then press him on changing the filibuster to a talking filibuster, a position he previously supported.